Apple has delayed its call for employees to return to the office by at least a month, Bloomberg reported Monday. Employees will now return to Apple Park and other locations by October at the earliest.
In June, CEO Tim Cook said that employees should get ready to return by early September. This would be according to a hybrid model in which employees would work at least three days a week in the office, and the rest working from home. But COVID-19 has seemingly (temporarily) scuppered those plans.
Having only fairly recently completed its massive Apple Park campus in Cupertino, Apple’s now “ramping up” efforts to decentralize its workforce, says Mark Gurman in his latest “Power On” column for Bloomberg.
This means reluctantly embracing the idea that not everyone wants to live and work in Silicon Valley. While Apple execs have supposedly fought against this way of thinking for years, recruitment challenges are now causing them to reassess the situation.
You know it’s a special day at Apple when the company whips out its rainbow stage. Designed by Apple’s industrial design team, back when Jony Ive was in charge, the rainbow stage — adorned in Apple’s classic logo colors — made its debut in May 2019. That year, it was used for a concert by Lady Gaga for Apple employees.
With many Apple employees currently working from home, a concert after today’s event seems unlikely. Nonetheless, Tim Cook — who tweeted out a picture of the rainbow stage — is clearly in a party mood.
November 19, 2013: Apple gets final approval from the Cupertino City Council to proceed with building a massive second campus to house its growing army of workers.
Cupertino Mayor Orrin Mahoney’s simple message regarding Apple Campus 2? “Go for it.”
Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s retail boss, sent a video to retail employees this weekend asking them to sign up to help customers remotely. She also said they should expect store closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to continue “for some period of time.”
Separately, Apple told employees that it doesn’t expect to have everyone back in its corporate headquarters before the end of 2020.
Apple Park staff have been told that they will begin returning to work in phases starting Monday, June 15, a new report claims.
A “very limited” number of workers will be allowed in the office on certain days, depending on their role — and there will be restrictions. Apple has reportedly warned employees that most won’t go back for several months.
Just as it has with reopening Apple Stores, Apple is putting protective measures in place to keep employees safe as they return to Apple Park after lockdown.
These measures include optional COVID-19 swab testing, temperature checks, closed kitchens, social distancing measures, and an insistence on face masks.
CEO Tim Cook told Apple employees at company headquarters and other locations around the world to “please feel free to work remotely if your job allows” this week.
This guidance came in response to the COVID-19 disease that’s spreading across the United States.
An estimated 12,000 people can comfortably work together in Apple Park. But Apple’s a big company — and 12,000 people is only a drop in the ocean.
For that reason, Apple has leased six floors in a nearby office building, just six minutes’ drive from its enormous circular headquarters at One Apple Park Way.
Cupertino residents that live near Apple’s new campus are being invited inside Apple Park for a holiday toy drive.
Email invites to the exclusive event started going out this week to people who live near Apple Park. Apple Park has a big visitor center but rarely lets outsiders inside the spaceship campus.
Take a look at the invite:
